Do You Try To Research The Past Owners Of The Lots You Buy?

I buy a lot of large box lots at auction and sometimes I start getting into the biographical background of the past owner.

A great lot I bought recently was the junk box from a family of collectors... sadly I didnt get the main albums, as they went for several thousand pounds.

The main collection had been started by a German doctor who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s, then continued by his son who went on to become a famous professor of engineering. In amongst the junk were some photos of him as a young man -- he had a very distinctive nose, so when I did a google image search he was unmistakable, even decades later.

There were some really nice stamps in the lot, such as early Chinese treaty ports, but I was just as fascinated by the back story.

Another time I had a postal history lot addressed to a diamond dealer in Birmingham (UK) in the 1940s-60s. That included pieces from diamond parcels sent by registered airmail. I couldnt find out much about this guy, but he lived in an area famous for jewelers at the time.

Other times I've had letters addressed to famous people -- generals, lords, ladies etc. A quick google never does any harm!

I don't buy these kinds of lots but your investigations sure seem exciting. Maybe I will think of getting one in the future. I have found letters and additional stamps in some covers which I have purchased.

I have the odd item that has some provenance and definitely research the addressees on my covers but generally don't research previous owners (where known) as they usually are given a write up in the auction catalogue.

A couple of years ago, I purchased a cover at the "Royal" with a 10 cent Jubilee with a nice flag cancel. I commented that there might not be too many of these around. The dealer, obviously younger than me, commented that this wasn't the first time he had sold this cover and he expected he would see it on the market again some day.

I am frequently almost as interested in the history of ownership of items that I buy as I am in the item(s) themselves.

That in and of itself, is a whole separate story to tell.

It is the policy of most larger stamp firms especially stamp auction firms to remove as much of the personel information of a previous owner as possible .

Depending on what I buy, provenance is everything. High dollar lots often have a percentage added on for provenance. Also, a "good" stamp without a certificate but with fully traceable provenance will sell, as long as the previous owners are looked on as "impeccable". This is pretty much like pedigree with a dog, or a horse.

I will often ask for information on the seller. Sometimes I get the information, but more often than not they won't tell me anything at all. Where I do get information, this has helped me immensely. In writing up my Estonia collection, some of the covers are from a single family, who have provided me with wonderful information covering the 1890s through to 1940s, from Berlin through Estonia to Austria.

I do like to know the who, what, when and where of an item, if possible. Most of the time, the previous owner might not be as important as the information on a cover, but there have been a few times where it has made a difference.

I purchased a collection a few years ago from a widow who liked to talk about her husband. He had run a firm called the Naval Tailor Shop in Norfolk during the 1950's and 1960's. Included in this accumulation were a large number of covers from all manner of ships of the period. Sailors had to pay their locker fees to keep them, even while at sea or deployed to Vietnam. Why? Because sailors were not allowed to have civilian clothing on board ship at the time and sure didn't want to be running around town in their crackerjacks as the course of the war protests intensified in the late 1960's. I use these in the history course I teach in college. Here's a couple of them I kept for my collection as representative.






Another estate find linked the lady whose collection it was to the fashion industry of the 1930's. Her husband ran an up-scale clothing store and was a frequent participant in the exhibits in New York and Paris. Here's an example the type of material in that estate:




The cover itself is not that remarkable, but what was inside was rather unique:





Then, too, the Harmers International Auction Sale 8 had a load of photographic essays, all mounted on government prepared pages, accompanied by a production page for each stamp. The catalog didn't list any provenance, but the firm provided it when I asked for it. The collection had come from the Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Alvin W. Hall. THAT made a big difference in my interest in the lots.

You've seen the photographic essays in the long series of posts I did on the National Parks/Farleys.

As far as tracing who the letters were from, absolutely makes a difference. Knowing who the collector was? It can make a big difference as well.

I took possession of a collection of a young lass, from Papua New Guinea,
say 10 years ago?

I hope I have honoured her in caretaking her collection, now in mounts,
and polypropylene.

I have seen photos of her in PNG with family, and later covers after she was married, but not appropriate to post here.

A very good question. I recently purchased a multi volume collection, each with a book plate in the front of the album, and with the name thereon, it was easy to find some information. Alas the fellow was deceased, but it led me to several articles he had written in the philatelic press.
Another collection was largely cleaned of ownership information by the auction house, except for a couple invoices in a box. Internet search led me to a terrific obit on the collector--professor, navigator during WWII, flew the 'Hump' in Asia. Wow.

So now, when I have the information, I like to place a forward at the front of the album section, giving a little provenance for the future.
I think it is a good thing to remember that we were not the first down these pathways.